Metal strap for boxes, bales, or the like



Oct. 20, 1931. L. M. HARVEY 1,328,136

METAL STRAP FOR BOXES, BALES, OR TH'E LIKE Filed 001.. 6, 1923 if a f fZ Z k 7777/7777L77DX z 7 2 f i .9 2222: flzzzq gwvewtoz Patented Oct. 20, 1931 PATENT OFFICE LEO M. HARVEY, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA METAL STRAP FOR BOXES, BALES, OR THE LIKE Application filed October 6, 1928. Serial No. 310,694.

This invention relates to a strap such as employed as a binding for boxes, bales, or the like. It is now common practice to provide such binding bands for reinforcing boxes or any other article around which the band is placed. It has been the practice heretofore to nail such bands to the boxes or to provide the bands with integral prongs, or teeth, that engage the wood of the box. More recently a method of binding boxes is comin into vogue which involves overlapping the ends of the metal strap and then forcibly rolling or crimping the overlapped ends of the band so as to form a secure tie.

' This tie is formed while the band is in tension, and results in securing the band under tension around the article or box to which the band is applied.

The shape of the cross-section of the band is important. Heretofore a cross-section has been employed in which the edges of the band are slightly bent downwardly, and toward the face of the box, so that when the strap is secured in place, the edges bite into the material of the box and assist in holding the strap in place. The convex upper or outer face which is formed incidentally in the strap also facilitates moving the boxes about I over a floor or platform. There is, however, a serious objection to a strap having the crosssection referred to above for the reason that when such a strap is placed in tension around the box, the edges of the strap which bite into the box carry most of the tension stress of the strap. If the edge of such a strap, while subjected to high tension, happens to lie against a nail in the box, there is a tendency for the nail to cause a tear of weakening in the edge of the band which may develop sufficiently to render the band or strap useless, and perhaps cause injury to the box.

The general object of this invention is to produce a strap of this type having a crosssection which will overcome the disadvantages indicated above and which will have a tion which will overcome the objections indicated'above and which will have a shape which will facilltate the formation of a tie of the character disclosed in my Patent No.

1,680,611, granted to me on the 14th day of August, 1928.

Further objects of the invent-ion will ap: pear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combinations of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efiicient metal strap for boxes, bales or the like. A preferred embodiment of the invention 1s described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

'In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan showing a box or bale with straps embodying the invention applied to the same. T

Figure 2 is a cross-section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 but upon a greatly magnilied scale so as to indicate one form the crosssection of the band may take.

Figure 3 is a crosssection upon an enlarged scale showing another form the invention may take.

In practicing the invention, I provide a band 1 which is adapted to be applied to a box or bale 2 as a binding in the manner illustrated in Figure 1. This strap has a cross-section of such a character that when it is applied to the box the middle portion of the strap will rest on the face of the box. The material of the edge portions is offset upwardly, that is, out of the plane of the I convex lower face of the strap. The extreme ed e. however, is turned down to facilitate t e forming of the tie.

The curve at the edge of the strap connects to the curve of the middle portion preferably without forming an angle, that is to say, the cross-section at this point should 112]"6 the form of an ogee curve. In this way I avoid forming a dihedral angle in the metal that would interfere with forming it into a roll when formin a tie in it.

Figure 2 il ustrates one form of cross-section of this strap. The middle portion 3 of this stra is of concave-convex form with the ace disposed downwardly, that is to say, in a position to come against the face of the box when the strap is applied to it. This face is curved on a large radius. The material at the edge portions 5 of the strap is go offset upwardly but with downwardly projecting extreme side edges 6. In applying the strap to a box, the ends of the strap are overlapped and a tie is formed by means of jaws which move toward each other and engage the edges 6. By reason of the downward inclination of the edges 6, the strap will tend to bend downwardly at its side edges and facilitates forming two telescoping rolls which are offset by the dies in forming the tie. The concave face 7 which is disposed downwardly, that is to say, toward the face of the box, is on the same side of the strap as the convex face 4 already referred to.

A strap having such a characteristic crosssection is reliable when applied to a box having nails in it. If a nail head occurs under the concave face 7, or 10, it will have little eifect on the integrity of the strap. If the strap happens to be applied to the box so that a. nail head is located under the body ortion 3, or 8, there is little danger of startmg a rupture at this point due to the presence of the metal surrounding the location of the nail.

If it happens that the edge 6 or 11 comes over a nail in the box, the increased tension in the edge caused by the nail will tend to flatten the adjacent concave-convex lateral portion along the hand against the box face, and thereby relieve the tension at the edge. Furthermore, in a strap having this characteristic cross-section. when the tension is developed in the strap. the convex faces 4 or 8 will come flat against the face of the box and resist the tension. so that most of the stress in the strap will be developed in the middle ortion of the cross-section. This will reieve the edges 6 or 9 and prevents their biting to too great an extent into the material of the box, paricularly at its corners.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 3, the body portion 8 of the band is substantially flat so that its lower face lies against the face of the box. The material at the edge portions 9 is offset upwardly above the plane of the body of the strap so that the concave face is slightly above the plane of the lower face of the strap and so that the extreme edge 11 of the band turns downwardly. The edges 6 and 11 do not project below the under face of the strap.

It will be noted that the upward displacement in the edges of the band is such that the cross-section of the band is devoid of any angular bends. Such bends would interfere with forming the tight roll that it is necessary to form in forming the overlapped ends of the strap into a tie by the use of dies forming the tie disclosed in Patent Number 1,680,- 611, referred to above.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is only one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the claims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

What I claim is:

1. A metal strap for forming a binding for boxes, bales, or the like, having a crosssection of such a character that the middle portion of the strap rests upon the face of the box or bale, the material of the edge portions of the strap being displaced upwardly from the plane of the inner face of the stra and of slightly concave-convex form Will the concave side dis osed toward the box, and uniting to the mid le portion of the strap in an ogee curve.

2. A metal strap for forming a binding for boxes, bales, or the like, having a crosssection of such a character that the middle portion of the strap rests upon the face of the box or bale, the material of the edge portions of the strap being devoid of angular bends, and displaced upwardly from the plane of the inner face of the strap to form a slightly concave-convex edge with the concave side disposed toward the box, whereby the overlapped ends of the band may be formed into a tight roll with its axis extending longitudinally with the band.

3. A metal strap for forming a binding for boxes, bales or the like, having a crosssection of such a character that the middle portion of the strap rests upon the face of the box or bale, the material of the edge portions of the strap being devoid of angular bends, and offset upwardly, and with the extreme edge bent downwardly toward the face of the box, whereby the overlapped ends of the band may be formed into a tight roll with its axis extending longitudinally with the band.

4. A strap for producing a tie having a longitudinal zone intermediate its edges in approximately the plane defined by said edges, and portions between said edges and the zone deflected from said plane, the said portions uniting to the said. zone in ogee curves.

5. A strap including intermediate the edges a longitudinal central zone in'the plane of said edges, transversely curved portions extending longitudinally of the strap and deflected in the same direction from the plane of the longitudinal central zone and said edges, said edges having a curved form combining with the central zone to form an ogee curve.

Signed at Los Angeles, Calif., this 29th day of Sept, 1928.

LEO M. HARVEY. 

